Paul Hornung Gets His Due

Just three days after Paul Hornung was honored once more in his hometown of Louisville by being inducted into the city’s Catholic Sports Hall of Fame, Sunday’s New York Times piled on the accolades even thicker.

In a story about present great placekickers, The Times used this headline:

…But They Cannot Hold A Candle To Hornung

And The Times used this text:

Not relying on just his ability to kick the ball, Paul Hornung holds the overall scoring record for a placekicker. Fifteen field goals and 41 extra points were not enough for the versatile star, who added 13 rushing touchdowns and two receiving touchdowns for a total of 176 points in 12 games.

Hornung’s average of 14.67 points a game was more than half of his team’s average of 27.7.

Please note that when Hornung was contributing so many things for Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers, National Football League teams played just 12 games a season (now it’s 16).

That is why Johnny Unitas’ record of most touchdown passes in a career was so impressive. The University of Louisville product’s record was not broken until last season.

No matter which college team is your favorite, please read Kent Taylor’s column on Howard Schnellenberger. It’s on page A8 and might give UK an idea of getting Schnellenberger to help a young coach get started on the right track at UK.

And how about this:

If Joker Phillips pulls off the impossible Saturday and leads the Wildcats to their second victory in a row over Tennessee, could the powers that be in Lexington keep him and work under Schnellenberger’s guidance for a few years?

Yes, I said two victories in a row over Tennessee!

Cats fans can dream, can’t they?

Speaking of dreams, Charlie Strong’s Louisville Cardinals should be poised to wind up their regular season in a blaze of glory. Two more victories and an attractive bowl!

About the Author

Earl Cox, Sports Columnist
502.897.8910
Earl doesn¹t just write about sports legends, he counts many of them as his
friends. A member of the Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame, he has been writing
about sports for 60 years. Incidentally, that¹s about how long it's been
since he¹s cleaned his desk but he knows where everything is.